How Did The Catholic Church Grow As A Result Of The Counter Reformation

A DEFENCE OF THE COUNTER-REFORMATION During the Renaissance period, religion had a tremendous influence on the people. The Catholic church held much power. They however, were morally corrupt from within. The dissatisfaction would lead to attacks on the church by people such as John Wycliff, and the start of the Reformation by Martin Luther. As the church’s influence decreased, the presasure to retain faith in the people increased. Soon, the Council of Trent would find ways to keep faith existent, and in turn, began the Counter-Reformation. The attempts of the Catholic Church to reform itself were beneficial, due to the actions of the Council, the Roman Inquisition & the Roman Index of Prohibited Books, and the Jesuits. As an attempt to reform itself, the …show more content…
The Council made changes in the doctrine by reaffirming church law. In addition, the Church reaffirmed old definitions of sacraments, kept the saints and purgatory, and most importantly, proclaimed priests as men with holy power, rather than as ministers. Through the adjustment of the doctrine, the Church was much more refined. Proclaiming the priests were to be considered as men with holy power allows the public to view the church to be more faithful, as well as establishing a closer connection to god, and creating closer relations between the church and the people. The Council also made changes in terms of practices. Before, bishops of the church were frequently absent from their work. In order to improve the clergy, the Council began to implant more bishops into cities, and had them create a seminary in order to train and educate priests. Through proper education, the clergy became more supervised, more educated, and more often celibate. The changes in the doctrine and practices had a positive impact in such a way that it resulted in a less corrupt and more devoted Catholic